Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Lager of the week: the Helles are alive…

‘Enjoy the sound of brewing’ and ‘climb every lauter tun’: class (or not) repartee from folk when I told them that I was going to visit the Von Trapp brewery high up in the hills of central Vermont. Saturday afternoon saw me climb the mountain road, shirt wringing wet in the heatwave, but salivating as I considered a glass of Helles, about which I had been told so many good things. The folk who let me into this secret weren’t wrong either — Von Trapp Helles is a gorgeous pale golden drop of sun in the glass with a delicate floral nose, a voluptuous body and a crisp dry finish. Brewmaster Allen Van Anda has created a wondrous Helles that — if I closed my eyes — transported me to an elegant beer garden somewhere in Bavaria (or should that be Vienna?). It was magnificent. The Vienna (crisp, hints of toffee) was a dream with some Vermont blue cheese and the Dunkel (a work in progress according to Van Anda) had luscious chocolate and milky coffee notes. As I mountain biked (courtesy of Sam Von Trapp who had tucked into the beer with equal gusto) back to the hotel in Stowe (where I was staying at Ye Olde English Inn with its marvellous selection of taps), the Helles were certain alive with the sound of music.